"Eh? s.h.i.+ro, you've already finished?" Lyrica said in surprise.

s.h.i.+ro was about to open her mouth but realised she was mute again. Sighing in annoyance, she pulled out the phone and started to type.

[Yes I have. I even got a pet bird out of it.] s.h.i.+ro typed out whilst giving the little bird a little ma.s.sage.

"Heh~ It's so cute!" Lyrica said as she tried to reach out for it.

The bird jumped in shock as it dived into the sleeve of s.h.i.+ro's uniform.

"Ahh! Little birdie~ I'm not a bad person!" Lyrica called out to the bird. However, the bird didn't even peak out as s.h.i.+ro could feel it s.h.i.+ver in her sleeve.

chuckling lightly, s.h.i.+ro stood up.

[Now that we've finished the trials, let's head back.]

Walking out the temple, s.h.i.+ro asked another question.

[So how were your trials?]

"It wasn't too bad. I could have done better though…" Lyrica sighed, feeling disappointed with herself.

[What about you Madison?]

"Huh? Me? Oh, it was alright." Madison replied feeling surprised that s.h.i.+ro would ask her as well.

The way back was rather stale as they didn't really have anything to talk about.

s.h.i.+ro just played with the bird the entire time.

Lyrica looked at the bird feeling a little jealous.

'Am I feeling jealous of a bird?!' Lyrica thought, realising how petty it was.

s.h.i.+ro only raised an eyebrow seeing Lyrica's change in emotion.

[Are you alright? What's on your mind?] s.h.i.+ro asked.

"Ah, nothing." Lyrica replied trying to smile it off.

s.h.i.+ro only shook her head. She couldn't baby Lyrica all the time so if she wanted to figure this out herself, s.h.i.+ro will let her do just that.

[If you need help just tell me.] s.h.i.+ro smiled.

"s.h.i.+ro…" Lyrica muttered.

'…How the h.e.l.l is this one-sided pink aura being created between them.' Madison thought. If either s.h.i.+ro or Lyrica was a guy, then it would make sense. But both of them were girls.

'Unless she's bis.e.xual? Or just h.o.m.os.e.xual?' Madison thought looking at s.h.i.+ro.

Her expression was calm and didn't fluctuate at all while Lyrica, on the other hand, was slightly fl.u.s.tered. She would occasionally look towards s.h.i.+ro as well.

'So… Lyrica's the bis.e.xual?' Madison thought as she was getting interested.

Leaving the Dungeon, s.h.i.+ro parted ways with them as she wanted to find some food for her bird.

"Hey, Lyrica." Madison called out as Lyrica stopped.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Erm so … between you and s.h.i.+ro." Madison started as Lyrica nodded.

"What about it?"

"Do.. you have feelings for her?" Madison asked. It wasn't that she disliked her for being bis.e.xual. But rather, it was her first time seeing someone like that so she was curious.

At the mention of having feelings, Lyrica started to imagine certain scenes.

*Poof

Her face became red as she didn't know what to say.

"N-no we-we're just really good friends! I still have something to do! GOODBYE!" Lyrica shouted, running away in a panic.

"…"

'She definitely has feeling for her!' Madison thought with a grin. Getting involved in love stories were definitely the most interesting thing for her. Forget fighting, an interesting love story gets her going.

###

Walking around the city, s.h.i.+ro pulled out an E rank mana stone.

By logic, since she was a monster and ate mana stones. The bird should eat them too.

Poking its head out of her pocket, the bird looked at the stone before turning away.

'Maybe it doesn't like to eat mana stone?' s.h.i.+ro thought, throwing the E rank stone in her mouth.

After she's levelled up, the E rank mana stones would no longer fill her up no matter how many she ate.

They were like jellybeans that were sweet to the taste but never filled you up unless you ate an disgusting amount.

Rubbing her stomach, s.h.i.+ro could only lament at her hunger since she had a limited amount of D ranked mana stones. A meal for her cost around 90k USD due to the price of D ranked mana stones.

Even if she were to use her savings, it wouldn't last her more than a few days.

"This miss is literally shovelling cash into my mouth to feed myself…." s.h.i.+ro muttered with a silent tear.

Her stomach was aching for substance so she could only pull out a D rank mana stone.

The second she pulled it out, the bird looked at it before looking at her. It made a sighing gestured as it grabbed and threw the D rank stone reluctantly into its mouth.

"…"

s.h.i.+ro felt a twitch creeping up on her mouth as she saw the little bird's action.

"Little Yin. That was this miss's meal ok? You can't just go around stealing it." s.h.i.+ro said tapping the bird on the head.

She let it be for now as it may grow up to be useful for her. It was a mysterious Shadow Type beast pet after all. Not to mention, she also had the life blood contract with it.

"Ai… Little Yin. You're lucky that this miss here is nice. Or else you be my soup for tonight."

Pulling out another D rank mana stone, s.h.i.+ro threw it into her mouth.

Chewing the stone, s.h.i.+ro enjoyed the feeling of a full stomach.

However, as if learning its lesson, Yin held out its wings and did a pitiful eye towards s.h.i.+ro.

"…Fine here you go." s.h.i.+ro smiled wearily as she gave it another mana stone. She could always get more in the Dungeon, only that it requires a bit more work now that she also has to feed Yin.

Yin chirped happily as s.h.i.+ro giggled slightly seeing this.

Whilst walking, she saw a crowd of people gathered in the distance.

Her curiosity was peaked as she hopped over.

There was a stage in the centre as different people walked up.

"Here comes contestant number 20! Will he be able to dodge the arrows and take the number one spot! Let us see!!!" An announcer shouted out.

The contestant in question waited as 10 pillars rose up around the stage.

Breathing deeply, his gaze was focused as he got into a martial art stance with a st.u.r.dy centre of gravity.

*Phew phew phew phew!!!

Blunted arrows shot out as he twisted his body to dodge the arrows. Narrowly pa.s.sing him, the arrows. .h.i.t a mana barrier that caused the arrow to lose momentum. THis protected the spectators as they could watch without any problems.

No matter where the man went, the arrows followed. He only managed to survive 33 seconds in the field.

"Ohh! Only 33 seconds! Unfortunately, he has not taken the number 1 spot of 2 minutes and 10 seconds! Can anyone take this challenge on! With an entry fee of 30 D rank mana stones and a reward of 10 C ranked mana stones! You heard me. 10!! C RANKED MANA STONES!!! On top of that! Even if you don't get top place, there are still prizes for top 10!"

'C RANK!' s.h.i.+ro's eyes glowed with hunger and greed while Yin was the same. It was drooling a little from its beak as s.h.i.+ro wiped it clean.

"Little Yin, if I do this. I get 8 you get 2 ok?" s.h.i.+ro said as the bird shook its head.

It put 7 feathers up for itself and 3 up for her.

"Ok listen here little Yin. I'm the one doing the test. SO, by rights, more should go to me."

The bird made a difficult expression and held up four feathers for her and six for it.

"Six for me and four for you most. None negotiable." s.h.i.+ro said bluntly as the bird shook its head.

"It's that or we don't do the test at all."

That was a lie. She wanted the C ranked stones so bad. Just thinking of their taste made her appet.i.te increase.

Hearing the offer, Yin wanted to reject but didn't dare to. 4 was still better than none.

Nodding its head reluctantly, it retreated back into her pocket.

Chuckling slightly, s.h.i.+ro looked for what should be the registration area.

It was a simple registration area as it had a leader board by the side with the top 10 ranks and times.

There was quite a big queue as s.h.i.+ro waited with patience while watching the other contestants.

"Onto contestant number 21! With a flexible build and amazing judgement, can he enter the top 10!"

The contestant in question was a tall and skinny male around 6ft 4.

Nodding, the man signalled for the test to start.

The arrows shot forwards as the man narrowed his eyes, using only his thumb, index and middle finger on both hands. He held the shaft of the arrow and redirected then to another arrow.

His eyes moved around constantly to pinpoint the arrows as it made sure the entire area around him was covered.

'Heh~ he's using his stats and reaction to simulate an attack domain around him.' s.h.i.+ro thought, seeing the man pinch arrows out of the air and throw them to another arrow.

However, that proved to be extremely taxing as sweat was pouring out of him.

'He's finished.' s.h.i.+ro thought as she turned her attention away.

"OHH! AND HE'S OUT! With a time of 1 minute and 14 seconds! He's just outside the top ten!"

Looking towards the leader board, s.h.i.+ro's only task was to get the 10 mana stones. Therefore, she didn't need to pay attention to anyone else.

Rank 1: Ling - Time: 2 Minutes 10 Seconds

Naturally, s.h.i.+ro didn't think she can do this easily. There were people higher level than her attempt this but what they don't have was her experience.

She could easily see all the arrows and react. However, the limiting factors were her arm and physic.

This is where the Yin Style Phantom Arts came in. With the Third Phantom: Counter Weight Phantom, she would be able to exert her body to its maximum potential without harming her arm too much.

Once it was her time to register, the person paused as he looked at s.h.i.+ro from top to bottom.

Pointing at her ice casted arm, he raised an eyebrow.

[Don't mind it. Just register me. I have the stones.] s.h.i.+ro typed out.

"… Ok but I'll need you to sign this contract so that any injuries would not be on our part." The man said as s.h.i.+ro nodded.

Reading through the contract, it was as the man said. Any injuries occurred in this event will be the partic.i.p.ant's responsibility and should not hold the organisers accountable.

Signing the contract, s.h.i.+ro walked over to the contestant's tent as she could see a lot of men stretching their bodies.

Surprisingly, she also saw a familiar face in the tent.

"Ah, s.h.i.+ro!" Helion quickly jogged over with a smile.

[Hi Helion. Thank you for making my friends weapon last time. It was very well done.] s.h.i.+ro smiled.

"Ahaha, don't worry about it. It was a pretty interesting experience for me as well." Helion grinned as he rubbed the back of his head.

[I got some feedback from my friend if you want to hear it.] s.h.i.+ro smiled. For a blacksmith, hearing feedback from their weapon was greatly appreciated as it helped them understand how well they made their weapon.

"Oh? Feedback? Sure, lay it on me. Hopefully, it wasn't too bad." Helion said feeling a little nervous.

Hopefully, he made a decent impression on the young lady in front of him.

[She said the balance of the blade was great. Located at the middle of the handle, the balance allowed her to really be flexible with her movements. A great cutting edge and design allowed her to pull out 120% of her strength. She thanks you greatly.] s.h.i.+ro typed out.

"Phew. That's good to hear." Helion grinned.

"Ah also, what happened with your arm?" He asked pointing at her arm.

[I got injured in a Dungeon. It'll take a few days to heal. Nothing major.]

"You should be careful in a Dungeon. Though, why don't you just use a potion to heal?" Helion asked confused.

[I wanted it to heal naturally in case I get permanent damage from the potions.]

"I see." Helion quickly looked for a chair as he pulled it over for her.

"Here, take a seat."

[Thank you.] s.h.i.+ro replied, not rejecting his good will.

[Also, just out of pure curiosity. How old are you? The craftsmans.h.i.+p of that blade was very nicely done.]

"Me? I'm 18 almost 19." Helion grinned.

[Is that so. You look like it but don't feel like it. The experience you showed was beyond your age.]

"Hahaha, well my family is a blacksmithing family. Since I told you my age, can you tell me yours?" He asked.

[Sure. I'm 13.]

"!!!!"

Helion was shocked seeing a level 28 aged 13. Not to mention, her temperament was way beyond a 13-year-old.

Chuckling slightly at his reaction, s.h.i.+ro typed out another line.

[Why are you shocked that I'm 13?]

"Well… It's just that when I was younger. I was in love with a girl who looked my age. After playing with her for a year, I confessed to her. Only then did I find out that she was 32 and married. I was 10 back then." Helion sighed pulling on a chair for himself to sit on.

[So you feel in love with a 10-year-old looking married woman when you were 10?] s.h.i.+ro typed out holding back a laugh.

"I know I know… Now I don't judge by appearance, but rather by temperament." He shrugged.

[What age did you think I was then?] s.h.i.+ro asked curiously.

"I thought you were above your 30's." Helion replied truthfully.

[30's?! This miss has a young temperament, what do you mean by 30's?!] s.h.i.+ro asked surprised.

She had always thought she gave the feeling of a person in her 20's and not her 30's.

"Well, it's just how you speak like someone with a tone of experience. Well… type like someone with a lot of experience." Helion said as s.h.i.+ro thought and agreed. Her age totalled up was definitely above her 30's.

Whilst they were talking, another contestant walked up to the stage as he wore nothing but a pair of pants, showing off his ripped body.

'This one is a veteran.' s.h.i.+ro thought as she could clearly tell the compressed power hiding in that body.